Liturgy of St.
Basil

by the Late Very Rev Nicon D Patrinacos

The origin of the Liturgy of St. Basil is Antiochian,
specifically from Cappadocia where St. Basil was bishop. In
all probability, St. Basil was its celebrant, if not in its
present form, at least in its essentials. And though we have
ancient documents ascribing to St. Basil a specific
liturgical formula in the form of 'Anaphora', the liturgy in
its present form in obviously the collective work of many
composers. But still, most of the important prayers in it
are the work of St. Basil on the strength of style,
vocabulary and ideas.

The theory which goes back to pseudo-Proclus and by which
the liturgy of St. Chrysostom is an abbreviation of that of
St. Basil, which, in its turn, is an abbreviation of the
liturgy of St. James cannot be substantiated if one compares
the contents of their respective prayers.
[pseudo-Proclus was believed to be Proclus, patriarch of
Constantinople who died in 447AD; pseudo-Proclus is now
dated to a period between the 8th and 9th centuries].
Some of the prayers of St. Chrysostom's liturgy are indeed
shorter than their counterparts in St. Basil's, but others
are longer. It seems that the respective sets of prayers of
the two liturgies are separate treatments of the same
themes. St. Basil's appears to be older than St.
Chrysostom's perhaps by two centuries. The Liturgy of St.
Basil is celebrated ten times a year, namely, the first five
Sundays of Great Lent before Easter,
on Thursday and Saturday of the Holy
Week, Christmas Day,
St Basil's feast (January 1) and
Epiphany Day (January 6).

Extracts by the Late Very Rev Nicon D
Patrinacos, are taken for the bookA Dictionary of Greek Orthodoxy